prettyugly.

Cool. Logan Square

..Elaborating on my previous post where I said that I felt Chicago’s best asset was its string of unique neighborhoods, I’m doing to go ahead and dedicate this post to my assessments of the various Chicago neighborhoods I visited. A city of neighborhoods, Chicago’s neighborhoods were usually comprised of a particular architecture style; either prairie-style wood-frame houses and bungalows, 3 + 1 flats/walkups, Victorian buildings replete with turrets, 1920s courtyard apartments and in some areas, old, brick (beaux arts, art deco, neo-classical and Chicago style) skyscrapers. They tended to have an adjacent retail strip or shopping corridor, and more often than not, were anchored by, and sometimes named after fairly large parks (Washington, Garfield, Humboldt, Grant, Douglas, Lincoln, Portage, and the various Lakefront parks). The nabes…..true Americana urbanity.

The Loop:

Undoubtedly the New York of the Midwest, it is the bustling heart of Chicago and altogether the world’s 2nd largest employment center (in terms of sheer number of jobs). The dense city center is vibrant, teeming with business professionals, commuters and tourists, overwhelming in scale, and with its gargantuan skyscrapers, intimidating – quite literally, too, since many of the buildings feature gargoyle gatekeepers, amongst other Gilded Age details. Visiting the Loop, one is constantly dwarfed by towering skyscrapers -- several which are 100+ stories – and the seemingly never-ending construction/public works projects. That, and the ubiquitous “L,” a nickname affectionately used to refer to the vast elevated rail system.

The train lines – all of them – begin in the downtown area and fan out from there, but not before running in loop, enclosed fashion, hence the “Loop” name. Synonymous with trains in the US, Chicago has a long history with the iron horses, spanning from the sprawling rail yards that distributed meats (slaughtered 18,000,000 heads of livestock in 1920; remember “Hog Butcher for the World?”), to having been an early pioneer of inner-city rail systems. Sadly, despite a complex history of innovation, I found much of the system to be dated, starting with the 1960s train carriages. The worst part, though, was how in some areas the system was literally falling apart. On several occasions, my train had to stop many times for workers to place a new tie or plank of wood on the track. That and sharing 1 rail with another rail line (Red/Brown lines), something which hampered speed and efficiency. Another thing that left me wondering was why some of the stations lacked proper covering, in a city known for inclement weather nonetheless? Criticisms aside, the trains were indeed good enough to get me around the city with relative ease.

Courtesy of the El, I traveled practically the whole city, and was able to taken in a wide scope and crossection of Chicago neighborhoods and their corresponding lifestyles. As a city of several million, its neighborhoods unsurprisingly span the whole spectrum, from the dangerous which ensure Chicago’s status as a murder city, to the safer, more down to earth ones I am about to describe. Now that my thoughts and opinions have crystallized to a certain degree, perhaps what I liked most about Chicago neighborhoods was the sense of intimacy, scale and personality they all held. The quiet, leafy streets lined with gorgeous greystones and corner, locals-only ‘watering holes.’ Out of all the nabes I visited, I naturally found myself drawn to the whole Wicker Park nexus, of which includes Wicker Park (obviously), Bucktown, Logan Square, the Ukrainian Village and East Humboldt Park -- places of which will be discussed in a later post.

First and foremost, I’d like to state that Chicago is a fine city – and I mean that by any stretch or definition of the word. It is in many ways, what I consider to be the story of America: the boom & bust models; strong perseverance, and city/regional identities; the large immigrant influence that transcends assimilation; the yearning for success and prosperity; a city of have and have-nots, along with the severe inequalities and segregation that ensue. Yup, (for the most part) that’s America.

Now that I’ve had some time to really think it over, I felt that this trip to Chicago – perhaps our All-American City –was somewhat of an introduction to the ‘real’ American cities. And while some of the reasons for me thinking this may be a tad bit superficial, and in and of themselves facets transferable to any city, I couldn’t resist the temptation to liken them (Chicago and the 'real' American cities, that is).

For one, the layout, design and build form of the city; particularly having a bustling centerpiece Downtown serve as the central locus. Oftentimes the neighborhood density begins to taper off as you leave Downtown and only wanes the further one is from it. Another facet is the weather; for one, as an Angelino, hailing from a place where cold weather is unheard of, cold weather is synonymous with the rest of the country. For what it’s worth, I should probably note that until this trip, never in my life had I been in a climate that was so bleak, unforgiving and cold; one day the rain poured non-stop, not letting up a single time during the day (proper). And of course, the fierce civic pride and vehement support for the celebrated sports teams and their icons; all of the above are things I so fondly associate with the (big) cities of the Midwest and East Coast, especially since strong sports culture doesn’t exist here. Chicagoans LOVE their Bears. My flight home, which was on a game day, had flight crew frequently updating the passengers on the score and the Bears’ performance. It was impossible to go anywhere and expect to not hear about them in one way or another. Too, Chicago is a city that has a wealth of vibrant, exciting neighborhoods that burst and teem with life.

These nabes were special to me for they had a wealth of diversity, stellar architecture and green spaces, as well as a myriad of dining and shopping options, but also a stellar (indie) social scene. Best of all, they were glossed over with a semi-gritty, unpretentious feel. Totally ace in my book. Another admirable quality about Chicago neighborhoods was that no matter how close they were (sometimes a mere mile apart or a few blocks over) to each other; each one was unique and had its own, different thing going on. From the hipsterfied, boutique-laden streets of Wicker Park, to the Uptown neighborhood and its troubled dual identifies, to the LA-esque, vibrant Mexican boomtown of Pilsen, to the college student and yuppie-infested hangouts on Armitage in Lincoln Park, all the way to the pseudo-industrial lofts of the West and South Loops, and back to the dangerous Southside; in short: no 2 nabes were the same. Not to dwell too much on that, though, as I have a post dedicated to the neighborhoods of Chicago coming up.

Sadly, the city is undoubtedly the most racially/socially stratified and polarized I’d ever been. This archaic reality is manifested in the city’s racially segregated “sides:” the North side for Whites; West for Hispanics; South for Blacks. In fact, Chicago is so segregated that demographers had to invent a special word for it: hyper-segregation. Hell, Martin Luther King, said the racism in the South had nothing on Chicago’s, instead labeling Chicago “the most racist city” he’d ever been to. While there, I saw very little integration and interaction between races – not even interracial dating -- which, apparently, is the norm there; but here, in Los Angeles, such is to be condemned. One North side dweller told me that he knows more about and visits Manhattan than he does the city’s Southside, something so ever adjacent to him.

That said, obviously the people were different, too. On average, they seem a lot more wholesome and genuine – something which is a definite plus. This hospitality extended to even the really well-dressed and attractive people – people who are, by and large, rude and arrogant here; instead I found them to be relatively down to earth. I’d vouch that there is definitely a certain small town-esque charm and simplicity about these people that is appealing. The stereotypical working-class, unionized, beer-on-Sunday-with-the game, church-going ethnic (i.e Irish, Polish, German, etc) Whites who consider themselves to have “morals” and “ethics” are pretty rare around these parts, but are definitely visible there. And for those wondering, no, it’s not a bad thing; it just comes off as rather noticeable to an outsider. And, of course, I’d be foolish to forget the number of blacks.

Coming in at 35% of the city’s population, Chicago's black population is certainly more visible than that of LA. It was like..I was in the majority for once. Not really, though, as I saw how the blacks there lived. Sadly, its black neighborhoods were home to some of the worst (stateside, that is) urban living conditions I’d ever seen. Characterized by urban blight, wholesale abandonment and high crime rates, I visited some of these ‘real’ neighborhoods: Englewood, Lawndale, Bronzeville, and Douglas Park. Additionally, I visited the the Obamas’ former stomping grounds of Hyde Park and Kenwood – themselves one of a handful of integrated neighborhoods there. Man, these nabes were the real deal…maybe a tad bit – actually, make that a whole lot – too real.

Driving through these Southside locales, I felt as if I was on a real-life tour of The Wire, complete with the characters to accompany such. Under the cover of the ominous Illinois night sky, these characters: groups of down jacket-clad, timberland boot-wearing men huddled on the stoops of plywood-covered, weather-sealed, abandoned buildings, did anything and everything– legal, illegal or otherwise – to “survive;” to make it in one of America’s most dangerous cities. Though, in all honesty, I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised; given blacks are a historically oppressed group that, for the most part, has yet to overcome the impact and legacy of centuries of oppression (like the Black poverty rate being x3 that of whites). And when large populations of Blacks are compressed into small areas, the problems that affect them on a national level will only be magnified.

And while the areas in mention weren’t anywhere nearly as bad as some of the places Detroit (or any similar Rust Belt city, for that matter) has to offer, they did have the urban prairie made famous by Detroit. An urban prairie is what develops after so many homes have been abandoned, demolished or otherwise neglected, that nature in essence “returns,” bringing with it wild flora, fauna and animals. Such rolling prairies, which can be blocks long, and are located in the dead of urban nabes, characterized many of the Southside areas I visited. Oh, and don’t go there on an empty stomach, either. We circled the place for miles, looking for a decent place to eat; only to settle on one of the 2 restaurants were open. Eventually, we settled for Ali Baba’s Steak and Lemonade (the other was JJ’s Fish and Shrimp), where I ordered the steak gyro and lemon pepper French fries…something, which thanks to the nearly indiscernible bullet-proof glass, almost didn’t happen. Unwanted solicitations in the early AM for our phone numbers from the shady Palestinian chefs are uh, kind of strange, too.

So, after all of that, you guys might be curious as to how I think Chicago stacks up compared to LA? While it is obviously a city, it seems decidedly un-cosmopolitan and provincial, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing; it’s refreshing to get away from a city where so many of the people are shallow, superficial, supposedly ‘learned,’ ‘cultured’ and ‘liberal.’ Truth be told, Chicago definitely takes the cake and has inherent advantages when it comes to several categories: affordability and several things vital to urban living: urbanity, density, architecture and mass transit.

Diversity, integration, weather, transparency and crime/safety are all categories LA has the upper hand in – IMO, anyways. Though, I suppose one could argue Chicago is a better choice for livability and quality of life, too..though, that is only if one is strictly going by affordability, as I would consider Chicago’s affordability to be offset due to unreal level of crime (500+ murders in ’08; 17 murders in the week I was there; 7 shootings on 10/27 alone), glaring social issues, painstakingly cold weather and rampant corruption. Still a great town, though. If the weather didn’t get so damn cold, I could easily see myself living somewhere on a secluded, leafy street in the Ukrainian Village, Logan Square or East Humboldt Park, riding my bike to Wicker Park on the plentiful bike lanes and extensive bike infrastructure, living in a intimately charming 3-flat and having my “own” neighborhood dining, drinking and lounging options, blah blah..all that good stuff.

In total, Chicago, despite sharing similarities to certain East Coast cities, I found it to have its own set of marked differences and unique qualities that are indeed romanticize-able. The former Midwestern industrial brawn and giant, I found it to be the perfect analog to the coastal metropolises; big-city environment, with Midwestern sensibility. A place where bygone cultural facets and relics – those that once defined the big, old-time American cites in the Midwest – still flourish. And sadly – for better or ill – a place where some things will probably never change. Despite growing diversity, largely in the form of Mexican immigrants, Chicago’s reputation as a place lacking integration will only continue to persist. Although the city can – and does – build as many ritzy skyscrapers and condos as it wishes to, huge swaths of the city are still plagued by urban blight, nihilism, poverty and senseless violence. Not that these are somehow unique to Chicago; in fact this trip was more of an eye-opener than anything – to the harsh realities sometimes found in our cities.

Chicago does Chicago. It does its own thing; it withers criticism and continues moving to it's own beat – and that’s something I’m able to find merit in, and more importantly, enjoy.